England held to goalless draw by USA

A youthful United States side outplayed England in their World Cup Group B battle but were left to rue a flurry of missed chances and poor finishing in both halves after having to settle for a 0-0 draw at the Al Bayt Stadium on Friday.

England, unchanged from Monday’s 6-2 win over Iran, could have sealed their place in the knockout phase with a win but were careless in possession and struggled to dominate the Americans, who steadily grew in confidence.

Tim Weah set up Weston McKennie with a measured cross but the midfielder blazed his effort over before Christian Pulisic’s powerful strike beat goalkeeper Jordan Pickford but crashed off the crossbar in a lively first-half display from the Americans.

The closest England came to breaking the deadlock was on the stroke of halftime when U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner denied Mason Mount, while captain Harry Kane endured a frustrating evening up front as Gareth Southgate’s side laboured to earn a share of the spoils.